'I had to comfort them. I had to help,' says hero who helped rescue Chelmsford man

CHELMSFORD -- Carlos Arredondo, the "cowboy-hat man," handed American flag after American flag to National Guardsmen and women who started walking the Boston Marathon at 4 a.m. He was at the finish line, looking out for the military man who walked the 26.2 miles in memory of his son, and for the runner who raced on behalf of his other son.

Arredondo saw kids smiling, everyone having a good time, and then, "Boom." The Costa Rican immigrant heard a cannon, saw a ball of fire, and he jumped right into the war zone, where he witnessed a "puddle of blood and limbs."

"It was my duty and responsibility," said Arredondo, a Red Cross volunteer. "Who knows what else was coming, but it really took the courage of many to help people survive.

"People were crying on the ground. Everyone was in bad shape," he added. "I had to comfort them. I had to help."

And if not for springing into action, who knows if 27-year-old Chelmsford resident Jeff Bauman Jr. would be here today. Before Bauman could lose any more blood, Arredondo and two others rushed the now-double amputee to an ambulance.

Since the news broke, donations and prayers have been plentiful.

More than 100 residents of Bauman's hometown of Chelmsford, gathered on the town common Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil in support of all the victims.

Residents signed a sheet with a message to Bauman, but prayed for everyone hurt.

"People lost their lives and parts of their bodies," said 8-year-old Adria May as she held a candle. Her mother told Adria she thought that description was a bit graphic.

"We're praying for them to get better," Adria said.

Following a prayer, Town Manager Paul Cohen said Chelmsford will unite to support those who were injured, and remain a strong community.

"We all come together, and we move on, and we come back even stronger," Cohen said.

Amid Monday's finish-line chaos, Arredondo jumped the security fence, picked Bauman up, placed him in a wheelchair, put a tourniquet on him and started pushing him in the wheelchair. But he won't take all the credit for Bauman's survival.

"He's a very strong man. That's why he survived," said Arredondo, who has been on every TV station, news website and newspaper for helping out Bauman in one of the most iconic images of the catastrophic marathon. "We all worked together to get him out of there quickly, but he's a very strong young man who really wanted to live.

"I hope he has a quick recovery," he added. "He's going to be somebody who's going to help others."

Arredondo, 52, of Roslindale, hasn't seen Bauman since the ambulance drop-off. Bauman was brought to Boston Medical Center, and by the time Jeff Bauman Sr. and his wife Csilla made it to the hospital around 8 p.m., both of Bauman's legs had been amputated at the knee.

Since he lost a significant amount of blood, doctors continued resuscitating Bauman during surgery. He made it through the surgeries on Monday, and he's doing better after his second surgery to treat the fluid buildup in his abdomen, according to the Jeff Bauman Jr. support page on Facebook.

"Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they did help greatly. Unfortunately my son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," according to a prepared statement from Bauman Sr. on Wednesday. "He had to have both lower limbs removed due to the extensive vascular and bone damage.

"I was with him last night and am heading back down to Boston Medical Center to be with him today. He went back into surgery last night at midnight for exploratory due to fluid in his abdomen. He came out at 2:30 and doctors informed us he was doing better. Thanks again to all you guys and girls, my friends. I'll keep you informed."

Bauman, who works at the Costco deli counter in Concord, N.H., was at the finish line to cheer on his girlfriend, Erin Hurley, in her first marathon. She was about a mile away when the blasts happened, and then Arredondo sprung into action.

"There is not enough thanks for him (Arredondo)," said Jillian Harvey, 26, of Chelmsford, Bauman's close friend. "He saved Jeff's life, and it's just amazing that Jeff is still here with us.

"We're so thankful that Jeff has the strength and personality to make it through this," Harvey added. "We're still in shock. We never thought this could happen."

Arredondo credited his background as a Red Cross volunteer, rodeo clown and volunteer firefighter to knowing how to react when the bomb went off. As a rodeo clown, he would rescue the riders who were gored by the bulls, and he has rescued fire victims.

"I've been there before, so I know I could help these people," Arredondo said. "It's something that first responders and hospital workers deal with every day, and I knew I could do it, too."

A National Guardsman walked the marathon in honor of Arredondo's son, Alexander, a Marine killed by an Iraqi sniper in 2004. A runner was raising money for suicide prevention in honor of Arredono's other son, Brian, who committed suicide in 2011.

Arredondo never got to see either person. He never handed out that flag to the National Guardsman, which Arredondo never let go of and which ended up covered in blood. But he honored his sons another way.

"Knowing these people were honoring my sons and recognizing my sons, I just wanted to help protect someone's son," Arredondo said. "But I was just doing one part. Everyone in the whole team helped, and he (Bauman) stayed strong."

With international media coming to interview Arredondo Wednesday night, he said he unfortunately couldn't make it to the Chelmsford vigil for Bauman. However, he looked forward to meeting with Bauman and his family down the road.

FBI agents also interviewed him, Arredondo said, asked routine questions in search of mundane facts they hoped would help them solve the extraordinary crime. Could Arredondo and his wife, Melida, verbally retrace their footsteps during the race? Where precisely were they when the bombs went off? What did they see? What did they do?

After about 40 minutes of questions, the FBI agents left without talking to reporters. Arredondo said they told him they'd contact him again later. The agents referred reporters' questions to their office, where officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Bauman's friends created a fundraiser page Tuesday night to help Bauman and his family, and the "Bucks for Bauman" support has been off the charts. At 2 p.m. Wednesday, $20,558 had already been raised by 474 people in 16 hours, surging past the initial goal of $20,000. Then the new goal was pushed to $1 million at 2 p.m., even though Harvey "highly doubted" that could be reached.

"We're just trying to raise as much money as possible. Whatever we can get," said Harvey, who started the 'Bucks for Bauman' fund with Brooke Gibbs, another close friend. "There will be huge medical costs, they'll need renovations in the house to make it accessible, and family members will need to look after him and care for him.

"When we heard what happened, we thought starting (the fund) was the least we could do," she added. "Everyone has been so supportive, and we can't thank them enough."

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/BucksforBauman. Also, people can donate at any TD Bank location to the "Bucks for Bauman" account. By late Wednesday afternoon, it had received 637 pledges of donations totaling $27,011 in 19 hours.

Sun reporter Robert Mills contributed to this report. Some material from the Associated Press was also used. Follow Rick Sobey on Twitter @rsobeyLSun.

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